This article, from the Coeur d’Alene Press came to my attention today and I felt that I had to respond. It’s not, today current, but posted by the CDA Press, July 25, 2020. To read the article click here. I am simply going to copy and paste and respond to issues I feel need to be addressed. I will put in Quotes what comes directly from the CDA Press--Joe Morris. Keep in mind that Joe Morris is the past CEO of Kootenai Medical Center and a super nice guy so this is in no way an attack on him personally, just issues that I believe should be addressed. My responses will be bold and Italicized and any quotes in those parameters are from other sources not necessarily from Mr. Morris. Let me also apologize for the FORMATTING information under images--> (LEFT,RIGHT, CENTER--remove click to add caption). I copied this directly from my Facebook account and these fixtures do NOT want to go away in this format. Ok, I am just too lazy right now to figure out how to remove them....I really need a shower.
“With the alarming rise in COVID-19 cases in Kootenai County, our state and the nation, it seems to me that there is a simple solution to stem the increase of the number of cases. Recent studies by the University of Washington and Arizona State University have shown that the more face masks are worn, the more deaths are prevented. One study predicted that if everyone wore a mask in the United States, 40,000 lives would be saved between now and November. If saving lives matters to you, wear a mask.”
The rise in positive results is not alarming nor problematic, it is simply a matter of mass testing and also a result of a now common issue of false positives from recovered patients. I suppose it sounds much scarier if the word, CASES is used instead of TEST RESULTS. Many of these positive results are from people who are NOT SICK! This is the reason that the CDC has stated that the quarantine period is reduced from 14 days to 10 days and there will no longer be a second test required, for the simple fact that tens of thousands of positive test from recovered people was skewing the already skewed data. The reality is that the death rate from CV-19 is drastically falling. There is no scientific evidence that proves this is a result of mask wearing, it is most likely a result of a weakening virus and new treatment discoveries for the seriously ill. The CDC also updated their CV-19 F&Q to state that wearing a cloth mask offers no protection. But I will get to that soon.
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“Recent antibody testing has shown that many more people have the virus. Some of these people who show no symptoms can infect their family and many people in their community. If they continue normal activities without wearing a mask, community spread of the virus increases.”
An “antibody” test does not show a current infection but rather a past, recovered person. What these antibody tests show is that many more people than thought have already had and recovered from this virus. Millions of people around the globe were very ill from Dec-Feb with a mystery respiratory illness. It was not that these people were asymptomatic, they just didn’t know about this new virus. Most simply assumed they had the seasonal flu. It has been widely reported that it is extremely rare for an asymptomatic person to spread the virus. Even the WHO stated this in June--”During a media briefing on Monday, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s COVID-19 technical lead, told reporters that "it still seems to be rare that an asymptomatic person actually transmits onward to a secondary individual,” referring to data collected from contact tracing efforts.” They did try to walk that statement back when reporters questioned as to why were masks needed.
Our US Dept. of Defense: “Scientists working for the US military have designed a new Covid-19 test that could potentially identify carriers before they become infectious and spread the disease. In what could be a significant breakthrough, project coordinators hope the blood-based test will be able to detect the virus’s presence as early as 24 hours after infection – before people show symptoms and several days before a carrier is considered capable of spreading it to other people. That is also around four days before current tests can detect the virus. The test has emerged from a project set up by the US military’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) aimed at rapid diagnosis of germ or chemical warfare poisoning.” TheGuardian.com
It has been over speculated that asymptomatic people are spreading this virus, but no REAL scientific proof. Even the young woman in Wuhan who was considered the first asymptomatic spreader was NEVER asked personally until weeks later if she had any symptoms, which she claimed she did. But no one took the time to interview her, they simply relied on the testimony of her family. And it still circulates around the internet that she is proof of asymptomatic transmission. DIG DEEPER! So if the Scientists at the US Dept. of Defense (Darpa) knew this back in April and it was reported. Why do you suppose the asymptotic theory persists? And it IS A THEORY purported as 100% truth.
“Some people describe this virus as “just the flu.” During the 2018-2019 influenza season, the flu — for which we have a yearly vaccine — resulted in approximately 34,000 deaths. This virus, for which there is no vaccine, has already resulted in over 140,000 deaths in the United States.”
The 2018-19 flu season was very moderate according to the CDC...however, speaking of vaccines, the CDC estimates that out of 49% of the population that were vaccinated only 3,500 deaths were prevented, and 34,000 died. Is that an acceptable number? And when the real numbers of COVID deaths are actually calculated, they will be very close to the average seasonal flu deaths perhaps even much lower.
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However, 2017-2018 proved to be a much more severe flu season
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To claim that this virus is responsible for the deaths of 144,000 people is absolutely irresponsible and I really wish intelligent people would STOP using this fake data! Anyone in the medical profession knows it is NOT an accurate number. Dr. Deborah Birx made this statement to the world on April 8th, 2020 and this is still how CV-19 deaths are counted. “There are other countries that if you had a preexisting condition and let's say the virus caused you to go to the ICU and then have a heart or kidney problem some countries are recording as a heart issue or a kidney issue and not a COVID-19 death. Right now we are still recording it and we will I mean the great thing about having forms that come in and a form that has the ability to market as COVID-19 infection the intent is right now that those if someone dies with COVID-19 we are counting that as a COVID-19 death.” Dr. Deborah Birx
We are told quite simply that COVID deaths will be MARKETED and it doesn’t matter what you died from if you tested + for CV-19. Take George Floyd for instance. If his death was NOT publicized as it was he would have been listed and MARKETED as a CV-19 death as he tested positive on April 3rd and died May 25th still testing positive! This is NOT science this is called padding the numbers. And at some point in time, someone will actually go through all those death certificates, drownings, car accidents, terminal cancer patients, heart attacks, etc. and we will all see a much much lower number of actual CV deaths. But let’s just keep the fear mongering up! Can you imagine how high the number of seasonal flu deaths would be if everyone who tested positive for the flu when they died were counted as a FLU DEATH! THIS IS NOT SCIENCE! This is fear mongering...and if it’s not about politics, then what is it about?
“The recent numbers of COVID-19 patients provided by Kootenai Health are of great concern. Medical personnel are putting their lives in more danger recently because of the increased numbers of hospitalized patients with the virus. Many medical personnel are required to wear a mask for their 12-hour shifts. If you think it is an assault on your rights and a burden to wear a mask when shopping for an hour, think of those who are working hard to save lives. We express our gratitude and appreciation for first responders, doctors, nurses, everyone in health care and essential workers. If we truly mean what we say, we would all wear a mask.”
Over the years, especially during seasonal flu epidemics our hospital sees an overwhelming amount of sick people, sometimes to overflowing! Below is one such example of our hospital being at or close to capacity, which it is NOT currently!
“KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho -- Officials at Kootenai Health in Coeur d'Alene are trying to limit just how many people are coming in and out of the hospital each day.
Officials said the numbers of patients they are treating is very close to capacity. The ICU is just about full and the regular hospital floors are well over 90 percent full. Hospital officials said flu season is partly to blame.
Administrators at Kootenai Health are telling people to stay home if they have flu symptoms.
The hospital also wants to limit patient exposure to the flu. There was already one reported flu death in North Idaho in 2014 in January. Hospital officials said the particular 2014 flu strain tends to make people sicker. They said if you have any symptoms like a sore throat or runny nose, do not come visit someone in the hospital, even if you are a family member.
'It is pretty clear that people underestimate the severity of the flu when it really hits them. And our concern is that we keep our patients as well as our community as safe as possible,' said Kootenai Health Chief Medical Officer Walt Fairfax.” ~Krem 2 news JAN 18th, 2014
The difference is the hospital was not as UNDERSTAFFED then as it is now. And why is it understaffed? Because the hospital has furloughed many of the staff with the cut backs on various medical procedures. Moreover, If I am working at a job where I am being paid to wear a mask then perhaps my ideas of wearing a mask would change. I know this may be hard to believe but there are a LOT of first responders, doctors, nurses, and essential workers who take that mask off the minute they leave their job...I know many personally.
“Discussing this issue is best done in a respectful manner. It is not by shouting down a physician who in his 40-plus year career in Kootenai County has done as much as any individual in providing care for patients and improving health care in our community.”
I AGREE, up to the point that this physician would demand that I wear a mask in public. If wearing a mask works, then those who wear one are perfectly safe from those who do not. This is just simple logic.
“Opening schools without endangering the lives of students, teachers, and other school personnel, and our economy and jobs returning to more normal times, both are completely dependent on flattening the curve and beating the virus. If we want our kids and teachers to begin some semblance of a normal school year and our economy to recover, wear a mask.”
We have flattened the curve on those who actually die OF CV-19, not those who die WITH CV-19. This virus will keep circulating until we reach herd immunity. The scientific community must stop padding the numbers, start telling the truth about the reason for the increase in + tests and become honest about the actual causes of death. We simply can’t keep lying to the American people that someone who died of liver disease, died of CV-19! Imagine if the attending physician or the coroner had put COVID as George Floyd’s cause of death! Of course, they couldn’t have done that...too many witnesses! We can actually become normal again rather quickly if we simply stop putting our eggs in the vaccine basket and focus on cures and NOT disqualify what hundreds of Medical professionals around the world are saying about HDQ and the great success they are having with that treatment. Doesn’t that seem logical? It may not work for some people but it has worked for thousands of others. Why are we focusing on masks and not available treatments? Politics? If wearing a mask makes someone feel at ease and safer, by all means, wear one. But according to the CDC a cloth mask offers no protection.
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Read that double speak carefully. It is the second part of the paragraph that actually tells the truth. CLOTH FACE COVERINGS MAY PROVIDE REASSURANCE TO OTHERS IN PUBLIC SETTINGS AND BE A REMINDER OF THE NEED TO MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING. HOWEVER, CLOTH FACE COVERINGS ARE NOT PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT...
So this is where there is an “assault on” MY rights and a burden to me. It is NOT my responsibility to reassure others or remind them of anything! The simple fact that I do NOT wear a mask should be reassuring to them that they should just live their lives and take the normal precautions that we take during the seasonal flu time...which I believe more people will take seriously in the coming years. What we will see, most likely by the end of Sept. is a drastic reduction in Positive test results, NOT from less infections by mask wearing, but from the fact that the CDC said, NO MORE further tests after recovery. We will no longer have tens of thousands of false positives from recovered individuals. That is something you can put money on!
“Wearing a face mask is not a decision to be based on your political beliefs. It is based on recent scientific studies that demonstrate the spread of the COVID-19 virus is reduced when people wear masks.”
That statement is in itself political as it depends on what “scientific studies” you are looking at and WHO is funding those studies. It is all political! I can find just as many studies stating that masks do NOT stop the spread of the virus and worse, they give people a false sense of security so that they don’t wash their hands as much and don’t take the same precautions as those who are not wearing a mask. “One study, published April 6 in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, found that they did not. That study, led by South Korean researchers, involved asking four patients with COVID-19 to cough into a petri dish 7.8 inches (20 centimeters) away. The patients coughed without masks, while wearing a disposable surgical mask and again wearing a 100% cotton mask. Neither mask meaningfully decreased the viral load coughed onto the petri dishes...There's been enough research done to be able to confidently say that masks wouldn't be able to stop the spread of infection, that they would only have a small effect on transmission," Cowling said. "We shouldn't be relying on masks to help us go back to normal.” Livescience.com
But again, if wearing a mask makes people feel safer, by all means wear one! But remember, if the medical community can not come to any consensus that those who have recovered from this virus have any lasting immunities then don’t put your hope in a vaccine as that is the entire premise of a vaccine.
“If you think life is precious, you think that schools should safely reopen, you want the economy to return to normal, and that we mean it when we express our gratitude to essential workers, then just do your small part and wear a mask. It is our responsibility when we are part of a community.”
And I will quote from the CDC again: “ CLOTH FACE COVERINGS MAY PROVIDE REASSURANCE TO OTHERS IN PUBLIC SETTINGS AND BE A REMINDER OF THE NEED TO MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING. HOWEVER, CLOTH FACE COVERINGS ARE NOT PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT...” These issues are NOT my responsibility!
